Welcome Black
by LivMore
Summary: Sirius has been living in 12 Grimmauld Place, but Tonks hasn't seen him since she visited him in Azkaban. This is Tonks's reaction to his sudden appearance.


A/N: So, I got a review last time from Jannice Sace suggesting that I write a short sequel-ish thing to my story "Mostly." You don't need to read that one first, but I think it would make more sense. Tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: **_All rights go to J.K. Rowling and the Warner Bros. I only own the plot!_

The Order of the Phoenix was a group of courageous witches and wizards that led the anti-Voldemort cause. The meeting was finishing in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. There had been no leads to the whereabouts of the notorious Death Eaters since the resurrection of the Dark Lord himself. Tonks's mind wandered as she sat precariously at the edge of her seat, waiting for Snape to stop talking. He was probably just bragging about some "cool" dark arts potion that he learned to cure. As if there would ever be a need for that.

Tonks probably couldn't care less about the actual meeting at that point. She was submerged in thoughts of the home she was in. She remembered carelessly flying through the once-clean staircases as she hid from the Black brothers. _Of course, that was when they weren't caught up in the family legacy,_ she thought. The flat seemed all too quiet for her liking. What was a second home to her was only a lousy memory of her meeting with Sirius Black, her cousin.

The Order members squeaked their chairs against the floor as they stood up suddenly. The meeting seemed to have ended, but Tonks didn't move. She slumped to the back of the chair as she laid her head in her hands. Thankfully, everyone was busy leaving that they didn't notice her sullen mood. Only Molly Weasley, the matriarch of the Weasley clan, or even the entire Order, stayed in the kitchen. She was preparing a hot meal with magical knives, the usual in a wizarding community house. The image seemed misplaced in the dingy room. Such a daily act worked against all of her memories. In her mind, Kreacher should have been talking to himself as he shook the pepper into two bowls of soup. One for her and one for Sirius. She was only allowed over when his parents weren't over because they didn't approve of her father, Ted. Just thinking about Sirius froze her insides.

When he escaped two years earlier, Tonks was inexplicably hopeful for the shaggy-haired madman. More than was healthy she would think about where he could have gotten to. She even thought about sending an owl to try to find him. Tonks would quickly shove the thought aside when she realized how silly she was being, but she wasn't completely certain she was doing the right thing. She remembered some of her last words to Sirius, "You've still got a chance in mostly." She didn't know what had encouraged her to say that to him at the time. However, she realized that she didn't even regret her parting words.

Molly saw her concentrating on her thoughts and butted in. "Nymphadora, dear, is there something the matter?" Tonks scowled at her birth name. _Stupid mother_, she thought. Her thoughts almost carried her away again, making her forget to answer. "Are you in there, deary? You look a little pale."

"Oh! No, I'm just a little tired from work is all. I'm up to my neck in paperwork for the Minister," Tonks replied finally. She lied to sway the attention of the mother. Apparently, though, Molly was practiced in the art of lie detecting.

"Now there's no need not to speak what's on your mind. Spit it out, dear," Molly ordered. Tonks saw no way out of the unwanted conversation.

"I've been thinking about Black," she confessed. Tonks used his last name in case Molly thought too much into her words. "I just want to know where he went when he escaped Azkaban." Even if Tonks embellished her thoughts a little, it felt like a weight lifting off her shoulders.

"Don't you know, dear? He's been—"

Mrs. Weasley was cut off by the squealing of a door's hinges. Hidden in the shadows was a dark outline of a grown man. Tonks was an auror, though, and could observe the smallest details about a person. His posture suggested that he was from a noble family. His unnaturally large head suggested a head of curly hair. Finally Tonks could place a name to the figure.

"'Mostly.' I never forgot it…Dora," said the man. Her eyes widened. He stepped into the light. Sure enough, the scruffy face of Sirius Black was looking through her eyes. He smirked sheepishly, waiting for her reaction.

"I thought you knew that Professor Dumbledore was using this place as headquarters at the request of Sirius," Molly explained.

"No…I had no clue," Tonks said, her voice shaking.

"I'll just leave you two to it then," Molly said as she left through the kitchen door.

An awkward silence filled the air. Both of them were grasping for the right words to say after thirteen years. Finally, Tonks gave in to her most powerful urge. She ran forward, taking Sirius into her open arms. He held her close as she sobbed. "I thought I would never be able to tell you," she said through gasps. "I missed you…and I wanted you to know that."

"Dora," Sirius said quietly. He was secretly happy that she hadn't given up hope for him over the course of those hard years. "I never forgot your words to me. Sometimes I would mostly give up. Then I would remember that there's still a little room in mostly. I think we have some catching up to do."

Tonks smiled through her falling tears. "I would like that…Siri. I've been missing laughing with you. The last time I saw you, you weren't exactly in the mood for that. I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"I'm sorry there was any doubt in the first place. Let's have a talk, cousin," Sirius stated, leaving no room for argument. Tonks gratefully sat with her long missed cousin for the start of their new friendship.

A/N: Any good?


End file.
